Place the meat grinder in the freezer before using it. In this way, it will be easier to handle the lard. (if you add lard than will be a wise choice to use frozen tools)

Chop the meat into 2cm cubes and store it in the freezer for half an hour. It will be easier to grind the meat if it is very cold.

Pass the meat in the meat grinder cold. Depending on the recipe, you will have to chop the meat with a fine or coarse tewture. There are many discs used but traditionally we use one that is not much fine.

Collect the meat in a bowl and add the spices and seasonings favorites: garlic, fennel, pepper, fresh herbs, dried tomatoes, white wine, salt and pepper. This is the time to customize the sausage!

Mix all ingredients, mixing spices and smells in the flesh. Then cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and place the meat in the fridge for at least 1 hour or even the whole night, so that the meat will cure nicely. At this point you can use the meat as it is for many recipes.

If you want to bag the meat to make a sausage soakthe casing in cold water for 20 minutes. Then rinse it under the tap, by passing water from inside.

Assemble the meat grinder accessory for sausages. As for the disk for chopping, the size of the nozzle will depend on the type of sausage to be realized.

Insert the nozzle in the gut.

Pick the meat from the refrigerator and pass it in the meat grinder and then through the nozzle for sausages. Stop as soon reaches the edge of the nozzle.Slide the gutted and knot the ends.

Then proceed to bag the sausage: with a hand crank the meat grinder and with the other hold the gut which gradually filled with meat.

Once the meat is finished remove the casing and tie the tail end.

Divide the sausage into pieces of preferred size and roll up the gut on itself, alternating the direction.

Before cooking the sausage poke each piece of sausage with a fork or a needle so as to allow air to escape during cooking.

Cut the sausage into pieces if desired.

The sausage is ready! Use immediately or store in refrigerator until ready to cook. It is preserved in the refrigerator for a maximum of 3-4 days and in the freezer for about 2 months.

Last night i had dinner with some friends. I decide to prepare cupcakes as dessert. I wanted to try at home what I learned few weeks ago during a cake decorating class.

Actually I am not sure I baked muffins or cupcakes. Is there any difference? I asked google. Google always has answers. Apparently there are three main difference:

Muffins are for breakfast while cupcakes are for dessert.

Muffins are bigger than cupcakes.

The recipe for muffins is more bread-like, while the one for cupcakes is more cake-like. In the cupcakes is used way much more butter than in the muffins.

Somebody says even that if you smash a muffin into the wall you hear “boom” while with a cupcake you hear “puf”.

Basically I would say that the cupcakes are posh muffins … but this is only my opinion. For sure If I will argue with Doc and there are muffins around the table I will let you know wich is the sound of a muffin on his head : o).

While I was cooking I was listening in the order: Gary Jules, Mad World – Joy division, Love will tear us apart - Steve Kilbey, Under the milky way – The Echo and Bunnymen, The killing moon. This must be a collateral effect of watching once again Donnie Darko. If you did not watch it yet … please do it. You will not regret. It is simply brilliant masterpiece.

Let’s start with the little cakes. I used as recipe from a book my mother gave me as present.

For 12 cupcakes you need:

240 g of flour,

150 g of sugar,

2 eggs,

80 g of dark chocolate,

100 g of butter,

Teaspoon of backing powder .

First mix the butter with the sugar until it become a soft cream. Add the eggs, the melted and cooled chocolate, the flour and the backing powder. I did not used all the suggested flour. At some point (roughly 180 g) I felt that the dough was starting to be too hard. If I had milk at home I would have also add a couple of table spoons.

Cook for 15-30 minutes, depending on the oven, at 180°C.

For the frosting you need:

150 g icing sugar,

50 g natural unsweetened cocoa powder

250 g mascarpone.

Beat the icing sugar, the cocoa powder and the mascarpone to make a soft creamy foam. To decorate the small-cakes I used a pastry cream syringe. I needed to add a couple of spoons of milk since the cream was too thick and it was difficult to let it trough the syringe.

Here is the result. I hope you will shear with us your experience in case you will try.

To make the Italian ( Neapolitan ) espresso ( o' Cafè) three main fundamental things are needed. First one is the Moka, a good one of course! possibly bought in Italy or better if in Naples. The second one is the water that is something like the 89% of this holy drink (:-P), so probably is quite important. The third is the coffee (of course!!!), it is very important to choose the correct coffee! dear friend!!, check this Suntrust 's "article" about ho to ask for an espresso in Europe.

STEP 1

Get the Moka and the Coffee !! If the Moka is a new one it is very important to boil it. So open it add water in the boiler put the filter-funnel back and screw back the jug (see the pic to check how it looks)Repeat a couple of times. Do not use any kind of detergent.

STEP 2

After the cleaning step let's start to make this marvelous drink.

First of all, add tap water to the boiler. You need to stop once the level of water reaches the middle of the boiler valve (see the pic).

Now put back the filter-funnel on and add the coffee. Try to form a little cone helping yourself with a hand. It is important to not to press the coffee. If the vapor goes under too much pressure It can lead the Moka to explode, and it is not nice O.o

Screw tightly the jug and put the Moka on the burner. Now, you can wait for your house to smell of fresh coffee. Remember that the burner should be the smaller one and the flame the smaller possible.

When you see that no more coffee is getting through, take off the Moka. You may need to screw stronger the Moka and place it back on the burner. In few seconds you may see more coffee getting out. You can stir the coffee using a tea spoon (this step is fundamental). Enjoy it!!!!!